No other element of Emilia-Romagna’s cuisine heralds the seasons with such color and verve as the vegetable. In the region’s marketplaces all foods change from month to month, but vegetables are a kaleidoscope of the passing year.
Spring brings every imaginable shade of green, accented with delicate browns and whites. There are asparagus, wild nettle, peas, artichokes, dandelion, fava beans, new garlic, wild mushrooms, and lettuces of every description.
Colors strengthen with summer, turning primary and sharp: eggplant; tomatoes; peppers in yellow, red and green; dark green lettuces; green beans; broccoli; onions of red, gold and white; carrots; celery; herbs; and zucchini with its sun-yellow flowers intact.
Autumn moves across the spectrum to golds and purples: huge cabbages in purple and green; dark spinach, chard and chicories; brown porcini; purple beets and long-leafed black cabbage. Squashes come in yellow, orange and brown. Chestnuts look like mahogany nuggets next to russet-and-cream-striped borlotti beans.
Winter cools to maroons, whites, and the icy greens of fennel, cauliflower, leeks, potatoes, braided garlic, kale, dried beans, truffles, and olives. Radicchio appears as long leaves, compact heads, or large roses.
Those forms of radicchio are among Emilia-Romagna’s favorite vegetables, along with other tart greens, both wild and cultivated, to use for salads, grilling and sautéing. They are joined by sweet fennel, wild mushrooms, zucchini, cauliflower, beets, tomatoes, potatoes, colorful peppers, and onions, which serve not only as an ingredient but stand on their own as first courses and side dishes. Leafy chard, sweet squashes, cabbage, eggplant, asparagus and green beans are also especially popular.
Many of these vegetables are included in this chapter, which offers the simplest recipes in this book. They are purposely so—these are side dishes.
Italian vegetable recipes usually fall into one of two categories. There are dishes that are complex and assertive, standing on their own as first courses or antipasti. You will find them in the “The Antipasto Course” and in “Risotto, Soup, and Vegetable First Courses.” Then there are dishes of more subtle or less complicated structure, meant to complement and bring out the best of poultry, seafoods, and meats. These are the side dishes you will discover in the following pages. Sometimes the dividing line blurs between a vegetable side dish and a vegetable first course. A number of the dishes collected here could happily be enjoyed on their own, but generally these are best as accompaniments to other foods.
This selection of recipes shares the wealth found in Emilia-Romagna’s back gardens and bustling farms. Vegetables are precious, a link to the earth and to Italy’s agricultural past that almost everyone I know there does not want to lose. Even if it means a tiny patch of earth behind a city apartment building, many of the people of Emilia-Romagna still grow their own vegetables. A corporate executive boasts of his spinach harvest, and of the green pasta his mother still makes with it. The mechanic who fills my car in a gas station outside of Ravenna tells me how he preserves his peppers each year, and how the family has Sunday dinner in his garden as soon as the weather turns warm.
The wisdom accumulated from centuries of cooking goes into preparing the precious produce. Vegetables are usually cooked in one of three ways. Boiling accents their pure, fresh flavors. Cooking them in any number of variations on the sauté/braise theme enlivens, mellows, or broadens their character. Baking and grilling add the dimension of caramelization and concentrated flavors.
I prefer steaming to boiling. This is where my American taste supercedes Italian tradition. Also I like my vegetables a little less cooked than my Italian relatives do. These recipes reflect those preferences.
Sautéing and braising do splendid things to vegetables. Browning onion in a little olive oil before sautéing cooked spinach, or another precooked vegetable, is a basic expression of the technique. Raw vegetables sautéed until cooked take on even more complex character—for example, green beans browned with onion and simmered in stock, with mortadella as their flavoring.
Build on the sautéing idea by adding herbs, tomatoes, and other aromatics. Small amounts of prosciutto, pancetta, or salt pork impart even more dimension to a dish.
Yes, there is fat, but usually in small quantities. Sautéing maximizes the fat’s usefulness and flavor, giving far more depth and character than is had by merely dabbing butter or margarine on boiled vegetables.
Grilling is another example of small amounts of fat producing big results. Rubbing vegetables with a little olive oil before grilling ensures browning and deep caramelized flavors. Baking concentrates flavors with no fat at all.
In this collection of recipes from Emilia-Romagna, a middle ground is struck in the quantity of oils and fats. I have striven to keep the flavors authentic while cutting back on the generous amounts of fat traditional in many of Emilia-Romagna’s dishes. If you wish to decrease the quantities even further, most can be cut in half. The dishes will change, but they will still make fine eating.
Piselli con Prosciutto di Parma
This is an old and much-loved springtime dish from Parma. Freshly picked peas are best but frozen tiny peas substitute successfully when fresh ones are starchy and tough. Serve the peas as a side dish with roasted and grilled main dishes.
[Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish, 4 to 6 as a first course]
1 pound shelled sweet peas or frozen tiny peas, defrosted
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, lightly pressed with the blade of a large knife
2 ounces thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons crushed canned tomatoes, or 1 medium vine-ripened tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method Working Ahead: The prosciutto and tomato can be sautéed several hours ahead, just short of adding the peas. Cool, cover lightly, and keep at room temperature. Reheat and finish the recipe just before serving.
Preparing the Peas: If using fresh peas, steam 4 to 8 minutes, or until lightly cooked, rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and set the color, and drain.
Preparing the Flavor Base: Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and swirl it over the bottom of the pan, pressing on it to extract its oils. Once the garlic is golden (after about 3 minutes), discard it. Take care not to cook the garlic beyond golden, as it will turn bitter. Add half the prosciutto and sauté quickly 2 to 3 minutes, or until it begins to color. Stir in the tomato and simmer a few moments, or until it is thick and all the excess moisture has evaporated.
Serving: Have a serving bowl warming in a low oven. Stir the peas (steamed or defrosted) into the prosciutto mixture, and cook over medium heat only long enough to heat them through. Stir in the remaining prosciutto, season to taste, turn into the warmed bowl, and serve immediately.
Suggestions Menu: At the height of the pea season, serve this as a first course. Offer it as a side dish with Balsamic Roast Chicken, Christmas Capon, Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, Grilled Beef with Balsamic Glaze, or Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit.
Cook’s Notes Prosciutto di Parma: For information on selecting and using Parma ham, see A guide to Ingredients.
Fresh Fava Beans with Young Sheep
Cheese
Fave con il Pecorino
May in Romagna means new green fava beans. Their grass-colored skins are stretched so taut over the plump beans, they squeak as you pick them out of their cottony pods. Along with the fava, May brings young sheep cheeses (pecorino) from hillside herds. Pairing these green and white symbols of spring goes back further than most Romagnoli can remember. Etruscan shepherds probably rested in Romagna’s mountains, eating raw favas and new sheep cheese with coarse mountain bread.
In May and June, much of Italy shares this fondness for favas and pecorino. Restaurants usually offer the combination as a cheese course after the meat dish. But home cooks, especially in the country, still make it a meal unto itself.
[Serves 6 to 8]
3 to 4 pounds fresh unshelled fava beans
1½ pounds young sheep (pecorino) cheese (such as Pecorino Dolce, Lago Monate Pecorino, Fiore Sardo, and Pecorino Toscano)
1 loaf Modena Mountain Bread or other rough country bread
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil (optional)
Method Working Ahead: There is no last-minute concern here. Set out the cheese several hours ahead. The favas are best at room temperature.
Serving: This is finger food. Set out the unshelled fava beans in a basket and the cheese on a board. Arrange the sliced bread in another basket. Set plates for everyone. Invite diners to shell their favas, eating the beans raw, and to help themselves to chunks of cheese and bread. Leisurely nibbling is the pleasure of this dish. Some like cheese and favas together, with bread as the chaser. Others eat cheese and bread with the occasional bean. Pepper is sprinkled on the beans and cheese according to individual taste. Romagnoli near the Tuscan border share Tuscany’s penchant for drizzles of olive oil over the beans and cheese. Try it as a variation on the theme.
Suggestions Wine: In Romagna a young red Sangiovese di Romagna is right with this combination—a simple local wine for simple local food. Other possibilities are a young white Vernaccia di San Gimignano of Tuscany, Sardinia’s young Rosé di Alghero, or a young red Cabernet Franc from the Friuli region’s Collio Goriziano.
Cook’s Notes Young Sheep Cheese: At this writing, Romagna sheep cheeses are rare in the United States, but other young Italian sheep cheeses make fine substitutions. You can find them in cheese shops and specialty food stores. They are not grating cheeses like pecorino Romano. These are younger and moister cheeses, with round, tangy flavors. The cheeses will be firm but not hard, sliceable, and good to eat on their own. Taste whatever is available in your area to decide on the ones you like best.
Finding the Fava
Fava beans are also known as broad beans, horse beans, Windsor beans, or shell beans. They appear in different parts of the United States at different times from March to July. Depending upon your locale, favas may be as common as the green bean, or may be found only in specialty food stores and markets specializing in foods from Mediterranean countries. Look for bright green unblemished pods with no signs of wilting or withering. The amount of favas called for in a recipe may seem excessive, but much of the weight comes from the bean’s thick pods.
Green Beans with Balsamic Pesto
Fagliolini al Pesto Modenese
If the cooks of Genoa who created pesto centuries ago had had balsamic vinegar, I am certain it would have been as vital to the sauce as basil. When summer green beans are tender and full of sweetness, this pesto sets them off as little else can. Renato Bergonzini, Modena food historian and balsamic vinegar expert, provided this recipe, which is excellent hot or at room temperature. The pesto is good over pasta, steamed or roasted sweet peppers, broccoli, fennel, potatoes, or peas.
[Serves 6 to 8]
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic
11/3 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
¾ cup (3 ounces) freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1½ pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
4 to 5 tablespoons commercial balsamic vinegar blended with ½ teaspoon dark brown sugar
Method Working Ahead: The flavors of this dish are best when it is served right after the pesto and beans are combined, or when it is left at room temperature no more than 4 to 5 hours before serving. The pesto can be prepared several hours before the beans are cooked. Cover and keep it at room temperature until ready to toss with the beans. The finished dish can be served at room temperature, but do toss the basil pesto with freshly cooked hot beans, then let them cool down. Keep the beans at room temperature, as refrigeration alters flavors.
Making the Pesto: Combine the olive oil and garlic in a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Blend until almost smooth. Add the basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and blend until the basil is finely chopped but not puréed. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Cooking the Beans: Pour about 2 inches of water into a 6-quart pot. Place a collapsible steamer in the pot, cover, and bring the water to a fierce boil. Pile the beans in the steamer, cover the pot, and steam 6 minutes, or until tender crisp.
Finishing the Dish: Turn the beans into a shallow serving bowl. Add the pesto to the beans, stirring in the vinegar and sugar mixture. Toss to thoroughly coat the beans. Taste for seasoning, and serve hot or at room temperature.
Suggestions Menu: Serve with Herbed Seafood Grill, Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary, Riccardo Rimondi’s Chicken Cacciatora, Lamb with Black Olives, Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, or Porcini Veal Chops. The beans are fine as an antipasto with a few slices of coppa or salami before Risotto of Baby Artichokes and Peas, Tagliatelle with Light Veal Ragù, or “Priest Stranglers” with Fresh Clams and Squid.
Cook’s Notes Olive Oil: A flowery oil from Liguria is excellent in this dish. See A guide to Ingredients for information on olive oils.
Woman Taking Vinegar from Barrel from Tacuinum Sanitatis in Medicina (Tables of Health in Accordance with Medical Science), 14th century, Northern Italy
Il Collectionista, Milan
Fagliolini alla Bolognese
This is a special-occasion food that melts away on the tongue. The beans taste so special, they could stand on their own as a first course. As a side dish, they are particularly good with lemon- or balsamic-flavored roasts or grills.
[Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish or first course]
2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small to medium onion, thinly sliced
1 pound green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
2 ounces mortadella, minced
1 cup Poultry/Meat Stock or Quick Stock
Pinch of ground cloves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method Working Ahead: The beans can be cooked several hours ahead and reheated. Hold them, lightly covered, at room temperature.
Sautéing the Beans: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté over medium-high heat 4 minutes, or until wilted. Then add the beans and cook over high heat 8 minutes, or until the onions are deep golden brown. Stir frequently with a wooden spatula. Stir in the mortadella, stock, and cloves, and bring to a gentle bubble over medium-low heat. Cover and cook 15 minutes (checking for sticking), or until the beans are tender. If the beans threaten to stick or scorch, stir in about ¼ cup water.
Finishing and Serving: Have a serving bowl warming in a low oven. Concentrate the flavors by uncovering the pot and boiling off all the liquid. Keep turning and stirring the beans to protect them from burning. Once there is only a thick sauce clinging to the beans, turn them into the warmed bowl and serve.
Suggestions Menu: Serve with Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary, or Balsamic Roast Chicken. Have them as a first course before any of the above dishes, or before Tagliatelle with Caramelized Onions and Fresh Herbs or Tagliarini with Lemon Anchovy Sauce.
Herb and Garlic Grilled Eggplant
Melanzane alla Graticola
Eggplant, so good on its own, is also a culinary chameleon, absorbing herbs and spices to become any number of different dishes. In Romagna palm-size slices are steeped in garlic, basil, parsley, and olive oil before being grilled over hot coals. Eaten either hot or at room temperature, this is one of those simple but supremely satisfying dishes that goes with almost anything and is good eaten on its own. It doubles easily.
[Serves 6 to 8]
2 medium eggplants (2 to 2¼ pounds), sliced vertically into ¼-inch-thick slices
About 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup minced Italian parsley
¾ cup minced fresh basil leaves
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Method Working Ahead: The eggplant is equally fine hot off the grill or at room temperature. Refrigeration throws off its balance of tastes and texture, so grill it no more than 4 hours before eating and keep at room temperature.
Marinating the Eggplant: Lightly brush both sides of each eggplant slice with oil. Blend together the garlic, parsley, basil, and pepper. Spread a little of the herb blend on both sides of each slice. Lay the slices side by side on a large platter, stacking them if necessary. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature 2 to 4 hours.
Grilling Outdoors: Burn down a charcoal fire (using real wood charcoal briquets if possible) until a white ash has formed on the briquets. The heat should be moderate. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt. Grill the (undrained) eggplant slices 10 minutes, turning once, or until deep golden brown on each side and soft when pierced with a knife. Spoon any seasonings left on the platter over each slice after turning.
Grilling Indoors: Grill the (undrained) eggplant slices over medium heat on a gridded skillet or stove-top grill 8 minutes, or until deep golden brown on each side. Spread any seasonings left on the platter over each slice before turning. Do this in several batches unless your cooking surface is large enough to hold all the slices in a single layer. Or preheat the broiler, adjusting the rack so the eggplant will be about 4 inches from the flame. Spread any marinade left in the bowl over the slices, and arrange them on a broiler pan in a single layer. Broil slowly 8 minutes, or until the slices are deep golden brown on each side and the eggplant is soft when pierced.
Serving: Transfer the finished slices to a platter and serve.
Suggestions Menu: Serve with Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, Herbed Seafood Grill, Fresh Tuna Adriatic Style, Grilled Beef with Balsamic Glaze, Balsamic Roast Chicken, January Pork, or Maria Bertuzzi’s Lemon Chicken.
Cook’s Notes Using Zucchini: Treat thick vertical slices of zucchini the same way, grilling them over higher heat and taking only 1 to 2 minutes per side. They should be browned and tender but not mushy.
First- or Main-Course Variation: To have the eggplant as a first course or main dish, top the warm slices with long furls of Parmigiano-Reggiano or young sheep cheese (cut with a vegetable peeler). The warm slices could also be topped with spoonfuls of bubbling Winter Tomato Sauce, then finished with the cheese.
Spinaci in Padella del Settecento
Far more interesting than Italy’s usual sauté of spinach and onion is Emilia-Romagna’s 17th-century version of the recipe. In it spinach cooks with spices, nuts, currants, and cheeses. Serve the dish just as they did centuries ago, as a side dish, especially with roast capon, chicken, game, turkey, or rabbit. It makes a fine stuffing for pastas or for small roasted birds such as Cornish hens. In Romagna the sauté, made without nuts, spices, and ricotta, tops hot Piadina flatbread. My own inclination is to keep in the delicious ingredients, cut the hot Piadina into small wedges, top them with the spinach, and serve it as an antipasto or with drinks.
[Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish]
2 pounds fresh spinach, trimmed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup minced onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
5 tablespoons blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons currants
½ cup (4 ounces) fresh ricotta cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup (4 ounces) freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Method Working Ahead: The spinach can be cooked up to 24 hours in advance. Squeeze out as much of its moisture as possible, wrap, and refrigerate. Sauté shortly before serving to keep the color bright.
Cooking the Spinach: Rinse the spinach in a sink full of cold water. Lift the leaves right from the water into an 8-quart pot, without shaking off any of the water clinging to them. Set the pot over medium heat, cover, and cook 5 minutes, or until the leaves are wilted but still a bright dark green. Immediately turn the spinach into a colander. Briefly run cold water over the spinach to cool it down and stop its cooking. Then squeeze out the excess moisture and coarsely chop.
Finishing and Serving: Have a serving bowl warming in a low oven. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté 8 minutes over medium to medium-high heat, or until golden brown. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute. Add the spinach, cinnamon, nutmeg, almonds, and currants. Stir while sautéing over medium heat 2 minutes, or until heated through and aromatic. Stir in the ricotta and heat a few seconds. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the spinach mixture into the serving bowl, and toss with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Serve hot.
Suggestions Menu: Serve with zampone, as a topping for Piadina flatbread, as a filling for Spianata, or with sautéed, roasted, or grilled dishes such as Herbed Seafood Grill, Pan-Roasted Quail, Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, Lamb, Garlic, and Potato Roast, Balsamic Roast Chicken, Porcini Veal Chops, or Christmas Capon. Use it in place of the artichoke stuffing in tortelloni.
Cook’s Notes Using Other Greens: Swiss chard, turnip greens, broccoli rape, beet greens, romaine, escarole, curly endive, and young dandelion greens are all excellent prepared this way. Cook the greens first as described above. They should be crisp-tender but still brightly colored. The tarter greens need longer sautéing with an additional tablespoon of olive oil.
Cavolo con Aglio
This old-fashioned dish from Romagna is a garlic lover’s delight. Slow cooking in olive oil turns the garlic nutty and golden. Cooked cabbage is then browned in the garlic oil. Serve it with roasted meats and poultry. A dividend of the dish is how good it is tossed with fresh pasta.
[Serves 6 to 8]
1 large head green cabbage (about 2 pounds)
Salt (optional)
4 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large cloves garlic, cut into ¼-inch dice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method Working Ahead: The cabbage can be boiled early in the day, and the garlic can be sautéed then too. Refrigerate the cabbage, covered, until about 1 hour before sautéing. Keep the garlic covered at room temperature.
Cooking the Cabbage: Cut off any bruised outer leaves of cabbage. Trim away the tough base, but leave the core so the wedges remain intact. Cut the cabbage vertically into eight wedges. Bring a 6-quart pot of water to the boil (adding 1 tablespoon salt, if desired). Drop in the cabbage and boil, uncovered, 10 minutes, or until the core is barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain in a colander, rinsing the wedges with cold water to stop the cooking. Then spread the wedges on paper towels to dry.
Sautéing the Garlic: Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over the lowest possible heat. Cook the garlic slowly, stirring frequently, 8 minutes, or until pale gold on all sides. Do not cook to dark brown, or it will turn bitter. Lift out the garlic with a slotted spoon and spread it on a plate. Reserve.
Finishing and Serving: Have a serving bowl warming in a low oven. Chop the cabbage into bite-size pieces. Turn the heat under the sauté pan up to medium-high. Add the cabbage and sauté about 10 minutes, turning with two wooden spatulas. Use higher heat if necessary to brown the pieces. Once it is browned, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the reserved garlic, and cook a few seconds to blend the flavors. Turn the cabbage into the warmed bowl, and serve hot.
Menu: Serve the cabbage with Piadina, Balsamic Roast Chicken, Pan-Roasted Quail, Lamb with Black Olives, Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary, or Mardi Gras Chicken.
Cook’s Notes Pasta Variation: Toss the hot cabbage with ¾ recipe Egg Pasta, cut for tagliatelle, or with 12 ounces imported boxed tagliatelle. Serve with 2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Offer this either as a first course or as a supper main dish.
Cipolle alla Bolognese
Onions have their own special richness, and they absorb flavorings like few other vegetables. This lusty old Bolognese dish achieves its sweet-sour tastes in an unusual way. Instead of vinegar and sugar, the acid of the tomato and the sweetness of the unsalted butter create the flavors. The onions taste best after resting overnight in their sauce. This recipe doubles easily.
[Serves 6 to 8]
6 quarts water
2½ pounds white or yellow onions, 1½ to 2 inches in diameter, unpeeled
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup drained canned tomatoes, crushed
¼ cup tomato purée
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¼ cup water
Method Working Ahead: Prepare the onions 1 day ahead, taking care not to overcook them; cover and refrigerate. Rewarm in a covered sauté pan over medium-low heat about 20 minutes. Another ¼ to ½ cup of water may be needed in the pan to keep the onions from scorching.
Precooking the Onions: Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Cut a cross in the root end of each onion. Drop them into the boiling water, cook at a full boil 2 minutes, and immediately turn into a colander. Rinse with cold water. Peel by making a shallow slit down the side of each onion and slipping off the skin.
Braising the Onions: Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onions, adding generous sprinklings of salt and pepper, 8 minutes, or until they begin to color and the butter is nut-brown. Keep turning the onions with wooden spatulas, adjusting the heat so the butter does not burn before the onions start to brown. Blend in the tomatoes and purée, and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes have thickened. Add the sugar, vinegar, and water. Keep the pan uncovered as you bring the liquid to a lively bubble and cook, turning the onions in the sauce, 3 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is clinging to the onions. The onions should show only a little resistance when pierced with a knife. If they are still too firm, add another ¼ cup water and continue cooking, uncovered, at a slow bubble until tender. There should be enough sauce to generously moisten the onions. If you are rewarming them, add yet another ¼ cup water.
Serving: Have a serving bowl warming in a low oven. Turn the hot onions into the bowl, and serve.
Suggestions Menu: Serve with Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary, Christmas Capon, Romagna Grilled Veal Chops, Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, or any grilled meat or poultry.
Bologna onion seller, 17th century, by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli
Casa di Risparmio, Bologna
Finocchi alla Giudia
Emilia-Romagna’s Jewish heritage dates back to the 11th century, when Jewish scholars, landowners, merchants, doctors, and teachers lived throughout the region. Over the centuries a treasury of Jewish recipes evolved, importing Jewish dishes from other places and providing Jewish interpretations of local specialties. In this old recipe, popular in Romagna but eaten throughout Italy, garlic seasons fresh fennel as it sautés in olive oil. It is a wonderfully gentle way of heightening fennel’s delicate flavors. Either hot or at room temperature, the fennel complements roasted poultry and is especially good with game and lamb.
[Serves 6 to 8]
4 medium-size bulbs fennel (about 1½ pounds without tops), quartered and trimmed of stalks and leaves
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, cut into ¼-inch dice
½ cup water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method Working Ahead: The fennel can be prepared early in the day and stored, covered, at room temperature. Serve it reheated or at room temperature.
Preparing the Fennel: Discard any hard or bruised outside layers of the fennel bulb. Trim away the darkened base of the fennel. Cut the bulb in half lengthwise, and then cut into julienne strips between ¼ and ½ inch wide.
Cooking the Garlic: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, turn the heat to low, and cook 8 minutes, or until the pieces are pale blond. Take care not to cook beyond a golden color, or the garlic will turn bitter. Immediately scoop out the garlic with a slotted spoon and reserve.
Cooking the Fennel: Have a platter warming in a low oven. Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the fennel to the pan. Sauté about 10 minutes, turning the pieces so they become golden brown on all sides. Once the fennel is browned, add the water to the pan and sprinkle the fennel with salt and pepper. Cover the pan tightly and cook over medium-low heat 5 to 8 minutes, or until the fennel is tender. Uncover the pan and boil away any liquid left in it. Sprinkle the fennel with the reserved garlic. Serve on the heated platter.
Suggestions Menu: Serve with traditional Jewish dishes like poached or roasted chicken, cholent, or pot roast, as well as with non-Jewish ones—Balsamic Roast Chicken, Herbed Seafood Grill, Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, Lamb with Black Olives, Pan-Roasted Quail, January Pork, or Thanksgiving turkey.
Radicchio al Forno
Brown, crisp, and tart, this unusual side dish contrasts richly flavored dishes like capon, roast chicken, lamb and pork. It is as good at room temperature as it is hot. When the weather is warm, people of the Po River plain roast radicchio outdoors over wood fires. This rendition makes roasted radicchio possible year-round by using the oven.
[Serves 6 to 8]
4 large heads (about 1½ pounds) radicchio
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Additional olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method Working Ahead: The radicchio can be roasted early in the day. Allow it to cool, then cover lightly and keep at room temperature. Rewarm, uncovered, in a 300°F oven about 10 minutes, or serve at room temperature.
Trimming the Radicchio: Remove any loose outer leaves from each head of radicchio (reserve them for Tagliatelle with Balsamic Radicchio, Pastas). Using a paring knife, trim away any bruised or brown areas of the leaves. If there is a stem, peel away the surface but leave stem intact. If there is no stem, peel away any discolored portion of the core. Cut each head vertically into quarters so that the leaves are still attached to the core.
Roasting the Radicchio: Preheat the oven to 450°F. To speed up browning, use a large heavy roasting pan that measures about 12 by 24 inches and is 2 inches deep. Brush the bottom of the pan with the 2 tablespoons oil. Arrange the radicchio quarters, cut side down, in a single layer, with the pieces barely touching. Sprinkle generously with olive oil and then lightly with salt and pepper. Spread a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the radicchio, slip the pan into the oven, and roast 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350°F and roast 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the radicchio is wilted and beginning to crisp. It will be almost flattened like a fan, and dark red-brown. Uncover and turn the pieces over. Roast, uncovered, another 10 minutes, or until dark brown and quite crisp but not burnt. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Suggestions Menu: The radicchio complements roasted, sautéed, or grilled main dishes. It pairs beautifully with Christmas Capon, January Pork, Rabbit Dukes of Modena, Balsamic Roast Chicken, Lamb, Garlic, and Potato Roast, Lamb with Black Olives, and Mardi Gras Chicken.
Cook’s Notes Selecting Radicchio: To test for bitterness, always taste a little bit of the leaf from near the core before selecting a head.
Cicorie alla Griglia
There are few vegetables that are not improved by grilling. Flavors intensify with browning. Many vegetables become so robust that they can easily stand in for meats as second courses. If you are looking for a meatless second dish that is light yet satisfying, a variety of grilled vegetables could be the answer. I like the touch of bitterness in grilled radicchio and Belgian endive. Other Emilia-Romagna favorites are eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onions, curly endive, and escarole. This recipe for oven and stove-top grilling stands in nicely when grilling out-of-doors is impossible.
[Serves 6 as a side dish, 4 as a main dish]
3 Belgian endives, split vertically
2 heads radicchio, each cut vertically into 3 wedges
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
1 cup (4 ounces) freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)
Method Working Ahead: The vegetables have more flavor when sliced and marinated several hours before cooking. They are good hot from the grill or at room temperature, and can be grilled several hours before serving.
Marinating the Endives: Toss the endives with the olive oil, garlic, and a little salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature about 2 hours.
Oven Grilling: Preheat the broiler and set the oven rack so that when the endives are in their pan, they will be about 4 inches away from the flame. Trim away any wilted leaves from the endives and radicchio. If they have not been marinating in the oil ahead of time, rub each piece with a little oil. Cover a broiler pan with foil. Arrange the endives split side up and the radicchio wedges on their sides, all in a single layer in the pan. Sprinkle with the minced garlic (if you are using it) and a light dusting of salt and pepper. Broil 5 minutes, or until the endives are deep golden brown on one side and the radicchio is wilting and tinged with brown. Using tongs, turn the pieces and let them brown on the other side. The browning is the key: It must happen gradually, so the flavors are deep and rich. Do not let the vegetables burn. The radicchio will wilt, but the endive holds its shape nicely. When they are done, set the vegetables on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the parsley just before serving.
Stove-top Grilling: Prepare the endives and radicchio with olive oil as described above. Preheat a gridded skillet, griddle, or built-in stove-top grill over medium heat. Once it is hot, turn the heat to medium-high and arrange the vegetables in a single layer on the grill. Sprinkle with the garlic, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat if necessary so that it takes 8 to 10 minutes to cook the endives to a rich crusty brown on both sides.
Serving: Serve hot or at room temperature. Pass the cheese separately.
Suggestions Menu: Serve as a side dish with Fresh Tuna Adriatic Style, Herbed Seafood Grill, Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary, Pan-Roasted Quail, or Maria Bertuzzi’s Lemon Chicken. Serve as a second course after Spaghetti with Shrimps and Black Olives, Cappellacci with Sweet Squash, Classic White Risotto, Risotto of Baby Artichokes and Peas, or Ferrara’s Soup of the Monastery. Make a light antipasto by serving the vegetables at room temperature, sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Cook’s Notes Adding Balsamic Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar and grilled vegetables are a superb pairing. See A guide to Ingredients for information on selecting a good commercial vinegar. Drizzle 3 to 4 tablespoons over the hot or room-temperature grilled vegetables.
Zucchini, Peppers, and Onions Variation: Serve these individually or together. Slice 4 medium zucchini vertically about ¼-inch-thick. Cut 4 large red and yellow bell peppers into large wedges. Cut 3 medium onions vertically into ¼-inch-thick slices. Toss each of the vegetables with ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1 minced garlic clove, and several grindings of black pepper (4 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram or basil could be added). Let stand 1 to 2 hours. Grill 2 inches from the broiler flame, or over medium-high heat on a stove-top grill, until cooked to a rich deep brown color. Timing will vary from about 2 minutes per side for the zucchini to about 5 minutes per side for the onions. Serve the vegetables hot or at room temperature.
Zucca Disfatta
For centuries the sweet squash found in Ferrara has been cooked with sautéed onion and fresh citron to mark the last night of Yom Kippur. Butternut and a little baked yam come close to the sweet spiciness of Ferrara’s squash. Fresh citron is difficult to find, but blanched lemon and orange zests flavored with a pinch of cinnamon do well in its place.
[Serves 6 to 8]
2½ to 3 pounds butternut squash
1 pound yams
3 tablespoons minced fresh citron rind, or 3 tablespoons mixed shredded lemon and orange zests
1 large onion, minced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups water
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method Working Ahead: The squash can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance; cover and refrigerate. Rewarm, covered, in the top of a double boiler.
Baking the Squash and Yams: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Halve the squash vertically and scoop out the seeds. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil over a baking sheet, and lightly moisten the foil with olive oil. Set the squash halves on the foil, skin side up. Scrub and prick the yams. Set them on the pan with the squash. Bake both vegetables 1 hour, or until each is easily pierced with a knife. Cool for a short time, and then pass their pulp through a food mill into a large saucepan, or mash by hand. (A food processor makes the mixture too liquid.)
Preparing the Citron or Citrus Zests: Whether you are using the citron or the lemon and orange zests, bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Boil the rind or zests 3 minutes, and drain in a colander.
Finishing and Serving: Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Take about 15 minutes to slowly sauté the onions until they are golden brown. Add the onions to the squash mixture, along with the citron rind or fruit zests and the cinnamon. Set over medium-low heat and cook slowly, stirring often with a wooden spatula to keep it from scorching, 15 minutes, or until most of the vegetables’ excess moisture has evaporated. The mixture will be thick and full-flavored. Season with salt and pepper, and serve hot.
Suggestions Menu: In Italy the squash often accompanies poached turkey. Also serve it with roasted, sautéed, or grilled meats, or with poultry, such as Balsamic Roast Chicken, Christmas Capon, January Pork, or Mardi Gras Chicken.
Cook’s Notes Fresh Citron Rind: Citron has been popular in Mediterranean cuisines for millennia. It shares lemon’s sourness but is fragrant with spice and hints of resin. The fruit’s rind is usually candied, but in this recipe it is used fresh. Since fresh citron is scarce in the United States, I have suggested the substitution of lemon and orange zests. Occasionally you will find fresh citron during the Jewish holiday of Sukkoth.
The Shop of Nuta
Ferrara’s Jewish community began growing into one of Renaissance Italy’s largest in 1275, when the ruling Este family guaranteed protection to the region’s Jews in a time of rising anti-Semitism. By the second half of the 16th century, Ferrara had become a major Jewish center, opening its gates to Jews from Germany and those escaping the Spanish Inquisition. Today the community is diminished, but its traditions and foods are still part of the city.
One element still spoken of with longing is the shop of Nuta. Before World War II Nuta Ascoli kept a food shop and rooming house in the Jewish quarter. Caviar from Po River sturgeon was among Nuta’s specialties. Certainly caviar is an unlikely food for Italy, but evidently it was one that Ferrara had quite a reputation for producing. She also made preserved mushrooms, turkey soup with farro grain, Passover cookies and her own extraordinary delicious renditions of goose prosciutto and salami. My very first meal in Ferrara began with a platter of thinly sliced goose-breast prosciutto prepared in Nuta’s manner. It was moist, sweet and wonderfully rich. I was told that for centuries Jewish cooks had preserved goose as the rest of Italy preserved the pig. Every November Nuta had continued this tradition, rubbing fresh goose breast with salt, pepper and cloves. The meat cured and dried until April, when it was eaten in celebration of Passover. Nuta is gone now, but the Italian-Jewish tradition of curing goose continues.
Asparagus in the Style of Parma
Asparagi alla Parmigiana
Sprinkling a little Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over almost any vegetable brings out unexpected nuances of taste. Parma cooks have given vegetables this classic treatment for centuries. Although not traditional in Parma, olive oil could replace the butter in this dish with good success. The recipe doubles easily.
[Serves 4 to 6]
1 to 1¼ pounds pencil-slim asparagus
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup (1 ounce) freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Method Working Ahead: The asparagus can be precooked early in the day for serving at dinnertime. Store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Sauté them just before serving.
Precooking the Asparagus: Trim the tough ends from the asparagus stalks. These are so slender that peeling is unnecessary; just rinse the stalks and tips well. Have a large bowl of ice water handy. If you own a special asparagus cooker, cook the asparagus in it 3 to 5 minutes, or until the stalks are just turning tender (test by piercing with a paring knife). They should still be a little crunchy. Lacking an asparagus cooker, half-fill a large skillet with water. Bring the water to a fierce boil. Making sure all the asparagus tips are pointing in the same direction, spread the stalks out in the boiling water with the aid of two wooden spatulas. Boil over high heat, uncovered, 3 to 5 minutes, or until a stalk is crisp-tender when pierced with a knife. They should still be a little crunchy. Using the two spatulas to scoop under the stalks, quickly lift the asparagus from the pan and immerse them in the ice water. This stops the cooking. After about 10 minutes remove them from the ice water and drain well.
Sautéing and Serving: Have a serving dish warming in a low oven. About 10 minutes before serving, heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and sauté, turning gently with the spatulas, until heated through. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve on warm platter, sprinkled with the cheese.
Suggestions Menu: Serve with Erminia’s Pan-Crisped Chicken, Pan-Roasted Quail, Basil and Balsamic Veal Scallops, Herbed Seafood Grill, Christmas Capon, Porcini Veal Chops, or Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary.
La Vecchia
This is Parma country food, a gratin of casseroled vegetables made by mothers and grandmothers for as long as anyone can remember. Many eat it as a main dish with no accompaniments. La Vecchia literally translates as “the old woman.” In this case it not only refers to the grandmothers who often make this dish, but also is the name of the boiled poultry and meats left over from making broth. Those leftovers were stretched into one-dish meals by layering the meats with vegetables. Today many leave out the meat, as I have done in this recipe. Otherwise the dish is unchanged. Each layer of the casserole is dabbed with a battuto, a minced blend of garlic, onion, celery leaves and stalk, and salt pork.
This dish is indestructible: you can reheat it, chill it, reheat it again, and still it is good. The recipe is adapted from one in Guglielmo Capacchi’s book on the home cooking of Parma, La Cucina Popolare Parmigiana.
[Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish, 4 to 6 as a main dish]
Battuto
3 ounces lean salt pork, in 1 piece
2 large cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
1 medium onion, minced
Top half of a medium celery stalk with many leaves, minced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Vegetables
2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, thinly sliced
1½ pounds small red-skinned potatoes, sliced about 1/16 inch thick
2 medium to large red bell peppers, sliced into thin rings
1 large onion, sliced into thin rings
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method Working Ahead: The gratin can be cooked early in the day. Let it rest at room temperature, lightly covered, and then reheat in a 350°F oven about 20 minutes before serving. It can also be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate covered, and then rewarm. Serve it hot or warm.
Making the Battuto: Blanch the salt pork by dropping it into a pan of boiling water and cooking at a full boil 5 minutes. Drain, rinse, and cool. Mince together the pork, garlic, parsley, onion, and celery until it is almost a paste. Use a food processor if desired, but do not purée the mixture. Beat in the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Assembling the Gratin: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Use a 3- to 4-quart shallow baking dish that is both ovenproof and flameproof. An enameled cast-iron dish is ideal. Lightly oil the dish with olive oil. Set aside two or three slices of tomato for the topping. Spread one fourth of the potato slices over the bottom of the dish. Top with one third of the tomatoes, then spread on one third of the peppers and one third of the onions. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and dot with a quarter of the battuto. Repeat the layering exactly as before, and then repeat again. Top the last layer with slices of potatoes, a few onion rings, and the reserved tomato slices. Dot with the remaining quarter of the battuto.
Baking and Serving: Lightly cover the dish with foil and bake 50 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat to 425°F, and bake another 35 minutes. The edges of the potatoes should be crinkled and lightly browned. There will be a goodly amount of liquid in the dish. Set the dish over high heat on top of the stove and boil off the liquid, taking care not to burn the bottom of the gratin. Remove the dish from the heat and let it settle about 5 minutes before cutting the gratin into squares and serving.
Suggestions Menu: If you are serving the gratin as a supper main dish, begin with Modena’s Spiced Soup of Spinach and Cheese, Linguine with Braised Garlic and Balsamic Vinegar or Salad of Tart Greens with Prosciutto and Warm Balsamic Dressing. End the meal with fresh pears and chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or fresh fruit and unshelled nuts for cracking. Offer as a side dish with Balsamic Roast Chicken, Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary, January Pork, or Porcini Veal Chops.
The cured pork of Parma from a 17th-century board game, by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli
Il Collectionista, Milan
Patate al Forno
Italy relishes the roasted potato, but few recipes achieve quite this degree of crispness and flavor. The key to success here is roasting the potato at high heat, covered with a light film of olive oil. Although the process requires attention, it can be done ahead; the potatoes reheat well just before serving.
[Serves 6 to 8]
4 pounds medium-size red-skinned potatoes
6 to 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 fresh sage leaves and/or 3-inch sprig of fresh rosemary
2 ounces pancetta, chopped (optional)
Method Working Ahead: The potatoes can be roasted early in the day. Leave them uncovered at room temperature; do not refrigerate. Reheat in a 400°F oven about 15 minutes. Finished potatoes can be held in a 200°F oven 20 minutes before serving.
Precooking the Potatoes: Preheat the oven to 425°F. While the oven is heating, scrub the potatoes. Place them in a 6-quart pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a strong boil. Cook 8 minutes, or until barely tender. Drain them in a colander, and rinse with cold water to cool them down. Then quarter the potatoes but do not peel them.
Roasting the Potatoes: Use a thick metal roasting pan or a shallow enameled cast-iron baking dish large enough to hold the potatoes in almost a single layer. Spread the potatoes in the pan, and sprinkle them with 5 tablespoons of the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Turn the pieces with two wooden spatulas to coat with the oil. Slip the pan into the oven and roast the potatoes, turning them often but gently, 40 minutes, or until they begin to color. Sprinkle in the rest of the olive oil, the herbs, and the pancetta if desired. Turn the potatoes frequently as you roast them another 30 to 40 minutes, or until they are very crisp and cooked to a deep golden brown.
Serving: Keep the potatoes warm in a low oven before serving, but do not hold them more than 20 minutes. If you are making them ahead, remove them from the oven and cool, uncovered, to room temperature.
Suggestions Menu: Serve with any roasted or grilled dish, as well as Pan-Roasted Quail, Maria Bertuzzi’s Lemon Chicken, Porcini Veal Chops, Beef-Wrapped Sausage, or Lamb with Black Olives.
Basil and Onion Mashed Potatoes
Patate Mesce
In the mountainous border country between Piacenza province and the region of Liguria, creamy mashed potatoes become fragrant with a sauté of onion, parsley, fresh basil, and garlic. Fresh basil is vital here. The potatoes are especially good when they can sop up the sauces of country-style braisings like Beef-Wrapped Sausage or Maria Bertuzzi’s Lemon Chicken. This recipe halves and doubles easily.
[Serves 8]
5 pounds small red-skinned potatoes
1 to 1½ cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, minced
½ cup minced Italian parsley
2 large cloves garlic, minced
½ cup minced fresh basil leaves
½ cup water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
1 cup (4 ounces) freshly grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Method Working Ahead: The potatoes can be prepared the day before serving, up to the point of baking the casserole. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before the final baking.
Cooking the Potatoes: Scrub the potatoes and place them in a 6-quart pot with cold water to cover. Put the lid in place, and set the pot over high heat. Bring the water to a lively bubble. Adjust the heat so the water does not boil over, and keep the pot partially covered. Cook the potatoes 15 to 20 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Meanwhile pour 1 cup of the milk, the butter, and 1 tablespoon of the oil into a large bowl.
Sautéing the Flavorings: While the potatoes are cooking, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch skillet over high heat. Add the onions and all but 2 tablespoons of the parsley. Turn the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook 15 minutes, or until the onions are soft and clear. Stir occasionally. Uncover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, 8 minutes, or until the onions are golden brown. Then stir in the garlic and basil, and cook another minute. Add the water and scrape up any brown bits in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Turn into the large bowl.
Mashing the Potatoes: When the potatoes are tender, drain and peel them. Pass the hot potatoes through the coarse blade of a food mill set over the large bowl, or mash them in the bowl with a potato masher. Blend the mashed potatoes with the ingredients at the bottom of the bowl. Season to taste. If the potatoes seem dry, add more milk. The mixture should be like very thick whipped cream, but not so loose that it will not hold a high mound on a spoon. Lightly oil a shallow 2½-quart baking dish. Spread half the potato mixture over the bottom of the dish. Top with half of the cheese, and then spread the remaining potatoes over the cheese. Sprinkle with the rest of the Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Baking and Serving: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly cover the potatoes with aluminum foil, and bake 30 minutes, or until hot to the center. Just before serving, sprinkle with the reserved 2 tablespoons parsley. Serve hot.
Suggestions Menu: In addition to the suggestions above, serve with Lamb with Black Olives, Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, Lemon Roast Veal with Rosemary, Christmas Capon, Balsamic Roast Chicken, and January Pork.
Lenticchie in Umido alla Modenese
Lentils, tomato sauce, and homemade stock make a dish that stands on its own as a first course or entree. In Modena, this recipe divides cooks into two camps. One side believes this is the only proper accompaniment to the town’s famous zampone sausage, while the opposition argues that mashed potatoes are its only proper partner. Both sides agree, however, that eating lentils on New Year’s Day brings prosperity through the year.
I like these as a buffet dish, easily fixed early in the day and reheated. The trick here is not to cook the lentils until they fall apart. They must be tender but still firm enough to hold their shape.
[Serves 12]
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, split
2 medium onions, minced
1 large carrot, minced
1 small stalk celery with leaves, minced
3 to 4 fresh sage leaves, chopped, or 3 to 4 dried sage leaves, crumbled
2-inch sprig fresh rosemary, or ½ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
2 large California bay laurel leaves
2 pounds dried green or brown lentils, rinsed (do not use red lentils, as they dissolve too quickly)
14- to 16-ounce can tomatoes with their juice
2 tablespoons imported Italian tomato paste
About 7 cups Poultry/Meat Stock or Quick Stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method Working Ahead: The lentils can be prepared a day ahead, but slightly undercook them. Cover and refrigerate. To reheat, spread the lentils in a shallow baking dish, moisten with ½ cup stock, and cover securely with foil. Bake at 350°F 20 minutes, or until hot. Serve right from the baking dish.
Making the Base: Heat the oil and garlic in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Rub the garlic over the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula, cooking it 3 minutes, or until golden. Discard the garlic. Blend in the onion, carrot, and celery along with the sage, rosemary, and bay leaves. Stir frequently over medium heat 10 minutes, or until the onion turns a rich golden brown.
Cooking the Lentils: Have a shallow serving bowl warming in a low oven. Stir the lentils into the sautéed vegetables, and cook about 2 minutes. Crush the tomatoes and add them to the pan. Stir in the tomato paste and 6 cups of the stock. Bring to a slow bubble. Cover the pan and cook very slowly, 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but still firm enough to hold their shape. Stir occasionally with a wooden spatula to keep them from sticking. Add another ½ cup stock if the lentils threaten to scorch.
Serving: Taste the lentils for seasoning. Turn them into the warmed bowl, and serve hot. (If serving with zampone or cotechino sausage, spread on a hot platter and arrange the sliced sausage over the lentils.)
Suggestions Menu: Serve with zampone on New Year’s Day as they do in Modena, or as a main dish after the Salad of Tart Greens with Prosciutto and Warm Balsamic Dressing. They are delicious accompanied by Grilled Winter Endives. Offer them, too, as part of a mixed antipasto platter along with Marinated Baby Onions, Platter of Cured Meats, Paola Bini’s Potato Salad, and Garlic Crostini with Pancetta.
Cook’s Notes Special Lentils: France’s green lentils from Puy are particularly good in this dish. Find them in specialty food stores.
Bologna vegetable seller, 17th century, by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli
Casa di Risparmio, Bologna
Salad of Mixed Greens and Fennel
Insalata Verde con Finocchio
Wine lovers advise serving salads of this kind after the main dish, when their vinegar and oil dressings cannot interfere with the wine. Yet many in Emilia-Romagna eat salad on the same plate with roasts and grills. The combination of hot and cool is enticing, especially when the wine is simple and not much damaged by vinegar.
[Serves 4 to 6]
1 small head Bibb lettuce
1 small head romaine lettuce
1 small head radicchio
1 bulb fresh fennel
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon commercial balsamic vinegar (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method Working Ahead: The greens can be washed and dried several hours ahead. Wrap them in paper towels, tuck the bundle into a plastic bag, and refrigerate until about 30 minutes before serving. Toss the salad just before dining.
Preparing the Salad: Wash and dry the greens thoroughly. Discard any tough or bruised leaves. Tear into bite-size pieces, and place in a large bowl. Trim the fennel of any bruised areas and discard any tough portions. Thinly slice into sticks and add to the salad.
Dressing and Serving: Toss the salad first with the oil. Then sprinkle with the vinegar, including the balsamic if desired, and salt and pepper, and toss again to combine thoroughly. Taste for balance, adding a little more oil or vinegar as needed. Serve at once.
Suggestions Menu: Serve with Grilled Beef with Balsamic Glaze, Herbed Seafood Grill, Braised Eel with Peas, Lamb, Garlic, and Potato Roast, or Fresh Tuna Adriatic Style. Of course the salad is excellent after almost any second course, especially Thumb Pasta and Tomato Braised Beans Piacenza Style or Rabbit Dukes of Modena.
Insalata Verde
A most traditional Italian salad bringing together all the greens of spring. Vary the lettuces according to what is available.
[Serves 6 to 8]
About 14 cups mixed seasonal salad greens, combining tart and sweet greens of varying textures, such as dandelion, arugula, oak leaf, Bibb lettuce, mâche, and leaf lettuce
3 to 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Method Working Ahead: The greens can be rinsed and thoroughly dried up to 8 hours before serving. Roll them in paper towels and store in plastic bags in the refrigerator.
Preparing the Salad: Discard any bruised or coarse leaves before thoroughly washing and drying the greens. Use a salad spinner to rid them of excess moisture. Tear the greens into bite-size pieces, and combine them in a large serving bowl. Toss with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Then toss with vinegar to taste. Serve immediately.
Suggestions Menu: Serve the salad with Braised Eel with Peas or Christmas Capon. Serve it after Pan-Roasted Quail, Mardi Gras Chicken, or Artusi’s Delight.
Bietole e Cipolle al Forno
Roasted beets and onions are sold in all the markets of Emilia-Romagna. These ready-cooked vegetables are taken home to become antipasti, side dishes, and salads. Combine them on a bed of romaine lettuce and dress with olive oil and a drizzling of balsamic vinegar for an easy first-course or third-course salad.
[Serves 6 to 8]
6 medium onions, unpeeled, but with roots trimmed away
8 medium beets, trimmed of tops and roots
Method Working Ahead: Roasted beets keep in the refrigerator, wrapped, 5 or 6 days. The onions are best kept at room temperature rather than chilled. Use them within a day of roasting.
Roasting the Vegetables: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wrap the beets individually in aluminum foil. Spread a sheet of foil over the oven rack. Place the onions on the foil and surround them with the wrapped beets. Roast 1 hour, or until the vegetables are easily pierced with a knife.
Serving: Offer the vegetables hot from the oven by slipping off the beet skins with the help of a fork and paring knife. Serve the onions by cutting a cross in their tops and seasoning with salt, pepper, and a little olive oil and/or vinegar. Or spoon a little balsamic vinegar into the onion and serve. If serving at room temperature or incorporating into a salad, trim away the onion skins. Cut the onions into wedges. Peel the beets and thickly slice or cut into wedges.
Serve as a salad by arranging the cut onions and beets on a bed of 10 to 12 romaine leaves. Sprinkle the entire arrangement with 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and 3 tablespoons good commercial balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Suggestions Menu: Serve with Giovanna’s Wine-Basted Rabbit, January Pork, Riccardo Rimondi’s Chicken Cacciatora, or Beef-Wrapped Sausage.
Polenta
Grill it, fry it, sauté it, or roast it—polenta takes to all these methods. As an accompaniment, it absorbs meat juices and seasonings, while at the same time it brings to dishes the soft, gentle flavor of corn. Layer polenta as you would pasta in lasagne. Bake it with braised vegetables. Or layer it with nuts, fresh cheese, raisins, and honey. Even though the people of Emilia eat more polenta than do the Romagnoli, every part of Emilia-Romagna has its favorites, and every family has its own renditions.
Carlo Middione, author of The Food of Southern Italy, shared his easy method for making polenta. It is a revelation for those who hate the tedium of stirring 30 or 40 minutes, as the stiff porridge fights you every step of the way. I have simplified his approach a little further, so with almost no effort you have a smooth and velvety polenta, the goal of every aficionado.
[Serves 8 to 10]
2 teaspoons salt
10½ cups water
3½ cups (1 pound) organic stone-ground cornmeal
Method Working Ahead: Firm polenta for roasting, frying, and other uses can be made even a day ahead. After cooling on a plate or in a cake pan, cover and refrigerate it until ready to use. Creamy polenta can be cooked up to 4 hours ahead and kept in its bowl over a pot of gently simmering water. Just make sure the bowl is covered and sealed with foil. Stir every so often.
Making the Polenta: Fill a 6-quart pot three-quarters full of water, and bring it to a strong bubble over high heat. Meanwhile, fill a kettle with the 10½ cups water, and set it to boil over high heat. Have at hand a large stainless steel bowl, a whisk, and a large heatproof glass measuring cup. Measure the salt into the bowl. Have the cornmeal in another bowl, ready to pour. When the kettle comes to a boil, pour the water into the large bowl. Using the whisk, stir the water into a whirlpool as you slowly pour in the cornmeal. Keep stirring in the same direction until the cornmeal is completely blended in and there are no lumps.
Cover the bowl with foil, sealing its edges securely. Set the bowl over the bubbling water in the 6-quart pot. Check that the bowl does not touch the water. If necessary, ladle off a little of the water. Cook 1½ hours, keeping the water bubbling at a moderate rate over medium heat. Three or four times during the cooking, use a rubber spatula to stir the polenta, scooping down to the bottom of the bowl to check for sticking. Do not worry if a little sticks to the bowl’s surface. Reseal the foil after each stirring. After 1½ hours, the polenta with be thick, smooth, and have no suggestion of rawness in its taste. Use it immediately, or treat it in any of the following ways.
Baked Polenta
Turn the hot polenta out onto a board and allow it to cool. The polenta will make a spreading mound. It is usually sliced with a taut string to avoid sticky knives, or use a knife dipped in hot water. Arrange ½-inch-thick slices of the cooled polenta in a single layer in an oiled shallow pan. Bake in a 350°F oven 30 minutes, or until heated through.
Serve drizzled with a little melted butter or warmed olive oil and sprinklings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Or serve as a bed for braisings and stews, without the butter or oil and cheese. It is especially good with Mardi Gras Chicken, Rabbit Roasted with Sweet Fennel, and Riccardo Rimondi’s Chicken Cacciatora.
The Polenta Eaters
For many in Emilia-Romagna, it took post—World War II affluence to finally banish polenta as the mainstay of their diet. Since the early 1700s polenta and beans had nourished peasants and laborers, especially in Emilia. The corn was brought from the New World and flourished on the Po River plain. Corn was cheap and plentiful when wheat was expensive and scarce. Before corn arrived in Italy from the Americas, thick porridges of water and ground grain were the food of laborers, foot soldiers, and farm workers. Buckwheat was popular along the Swiss/Italian border. The Romans ground dried beans and ancient strains of wheat and millet. So when cornmeal came upon the scene, its niche was already established. For many, it replaced wheat. Lamentably, corn lacked many of wheat’s nutrients, and pellagra, a disease caused by niacin deficiency, became a major problem among polenta eaters. Polenta is so identified with northern Italy that southerners disparagingly call northerners mangiapolenta, “polenta eaters.”
Grilled Polenta
Cool the polenta on a board or in a large cake pan. Slice it about ¼ inch thick, and then cut it into manageable squares. Brush with olive oil and grill over a barbecue, on a gridded skillet, or under the broiler, 8 minutes, or until browned on both sides. Serve with Piacenza Peppers Country Style, Garlic-Sautéed Cabbage, or Spiced Spinach with Almonds. Grilled Polenta is also excellent with Pan-Roasted Quail, Maria Bertuzzi’s Lemon Chicken, and Balsamic Roast Chicken.
Fried Polenta
Cool the polenta on a board or in a large cake pan. Slice it about 1/8 inch thick, and cut into rectangles the size of a playing card. Deep-fry in vegetable oil at 375°F, 3 minutes, or until crusty and golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve as a snack or with drinks.
Creamy Polenta
Add 2 cups water to the basic polenta recipe, and cook as described above. This can be held for 4 hours; see “Working Ahead.” Serve Creamy Polenta with Braised Pork Ribs, Lamb with Black Olives, Braised Eel with Peas, Mardi Gras Chicken, or topped with Game Ragù.
Layered Polenta Casserole
For the traditional polenta baked with meat ragù, see A Baked Pie of Polenta and Country Ragù. Polenta pies or casseroles can be made without meat for a substantial main dish. Oil a 3-quart baking dish, cut cooled polenta into ½-inch-thick slices, and layer in the baking dish with any of the following:
Garlic-Sautéed Cabbage
Spiced Spinach with Almonds
Lentils Modena Style
Winter Tomato Sauce
Alternate three layers of polenta with two layers of filling, dusting each one with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Bake at 350°F 45 minutes, or until hot all the way through.
Cook’s Notes Enrichments: Poultry/Meat Stock can be substituted for all or half the water. Milk can be used in the same way. With either liquid, 1 cup heavy cream can be stirred in just before serving.
The Old Way: Sweet Polenta
Until 40 or 50 years ago, polenta cooked with milk instead of water made a one-dish supper for mountain families. Slices of cooled polenta were arranged in layers in a shallow casserole. Each layer was spread with fresh ricotta and generous sprinklings of raisins and walnuts or almonds, then seasoned with cinnamon and generous drizzles of honey. Once the casserole was full, it was set to bake on the hearth in the embers, away from the hottest part of the fire. Although perhaps surprising to modern sensibilities, slivers of homemade lard were used to enrich the casserole. Where affluence took hold, butter replaced the lard and sugar stood in for honey, and more often meat dishes took the place of the cornmeal-based casserole. Then the polenta went from a main dish to a substantial winter dessert. For centuries cooked-down grape must (Fresh Grape Syrup, Pastas) sweetened polenta casseroles like this one. It is still delicious poured over hot Creamy Polenta and eaten for breakfast.
The oldest Borlengo maker of Guiglia